EP Review: stars tellling by HEARTCENTER

By: Alan Poole

Originally published March 9, 2018, by Plasma Magazine 

HEARTCENTER’s stars telling is a contemplative work of spacey post-rock that evokes the sensation of becoming unglued from reality while staring at the stars from a bedroom window. A compact DIY-release, Stars Telling attempts to illustrate simple ideas that cover vast stretches of time and space.

Sonically, stars telling is lean and mean without lacking substance, an emotive machine running at fighting weight. “Where Balloons Float (connections),” sets the stage with a quiet resolve that becomes the signature of the release as a whole. Pedal tones provide a beacon in the mist as other parts wisp in and out of focus. The sound is compact, the remains of a stone sculpture weathered into something unintentionally beautiful.

“Kinetic,” shifts the mood with raw energy and power, a welcome change but nothing dramatic or distracting. HEARTCENTER knowingly under-plays its hand to savor vivid mood and imagery. I think I understand why; these are fragile things that disappear at the slightest perturbance. That feeling of sitting on the roof at night, watching the stars for hours until the sun comes up, and then watching the mist rise off the ground. The sad relief of floating impossibly in nonexistence as time loses meaning. HEARTCENTER impressively captures this and more in just five songs.  

“Close the curtains,” completes the album with a nuanced bookend. Fluttering guitars strengthened by the rhythm section’s backbone come in mid-stream of one final idea, a new train of thought signifying the end of the cycle. Just like in real life, these heavy feelings escape us before we know it. I’m left wanting more in both a good way and in an unsatisfied way.

HEARTCENTER displays signs of greatness in this small-scale thoughtful bedroom-rock EP. This band aptly composes and performs emotive music as understated and pure as it can create, but time will tell whether this fine schematic grows into a work of greater purpose and scope. Stars telling can be enjoyed on Bandcamp, Apple music, and Spotify.